We didn't have any trouble until we got off the highway and closer to Springfield. Lauren retired her GPS in favor of using the maps on her cell phone, since she already uses it for music. She thought it was wrong when it asked her to turn, so she kept on going. We ignored it twice before we finally turned and found ourselves on a leafy, tree-lined street going past the West Springfield Library. That ultimately took us to the Eastern States Exposition...but Lauren had wanted to park in the shopping center parking lot. We just ended up parking at the Big E.
The moment we entered the gates, we were assaulted by pink, blue, and yellow boardwalk-style signs for everything possible that can be fried (and a few things that can but probably shouldn't be, like Kool Aid). There were people milling around, but it wasn't too busy at 10:30 in the morning. We strolled around the grounds first, getting the lay of the land. Checked out one of the many long tents that sold leather goods, but didn't buy anything.
Explored the Avenue of the States next. Each of the New England states touts their wares in a recreation of their original state capitol buildings. Rhode Island started with spooky carved pumpkins from Roger Williams Park and Zoo. We passed by a Del's Lemonade stand, but even at quarter of 11, it was too busy to stop for a drink. People stood in a line for baked potatoes at Maine that went out the door. Connecticut had displays for a science center and Mohegan Sun Casino. Massachusetts pushed wild honey and memorabilia and crafts based on the Red Sox and Patriots. People bought Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream in Vermont and locally made soaps, creams, and jewelry in New Hampshire.
After we left the state houses, we doubled back to the street running up to it. Lauren said she saw a unique pizza booth on our way up there. I've never seen pizza topped with pickles or Mexican street corn before. We had a slice of each. She got regular Coke. I had Diet Coke. Yum! Both slices were white, meaning without sauce, and drizzled with what I think was ranch dressing. Though the dill flavoring on the pickle pizza was tasty, I liked the corn pizza best. The sweetness of the corn blended well with the Mexican spice and the salty cheese.
Since we needed to hit the bathroom anyway, we made our way back to the demonstration and sales buildings. We checked out a collection of prize-winning quilts at the New England Center. I wish I could have bought a few, but they were only for display. We walked around in the Better Living Building and the Young Building, but bought nothing in either place.
The main reason we came to the Big E today was to see one of Lauren's favorite performers, former Herman's Hermits front man Peter Noone, who had a concert at 2 PM at the Court of Honor stage. This is the smaller mostly outdoor arena in front of the Coliseum and across from the back gates. Since there was already a pretty good crowd when we passed by at 1, we decided to get our seats early. We went with the picnic tables on either side of the venue, rather than the yellow seats under the tent covering.
I didn't know Herman's Hermits still had so many fans in the US. It was literal standing room only...which is why I barely saw any of it. People sat on the other end of the picnic benches and stood all around me. Lauren stood up to get photos and footage for YouTube, but I didn't want to lose my seat. Even Peter commented on the huge crowds when he came over our way and had to climb up on a table to perform for the folks on our side. As he put it, it had been easier to get through Customs coming from his native England than to wade through that huge crowd!
I'll give Peter credit, though. He really can put on a show. Most of his set consisted of oldies from the 60's, including one saluting the three late members of the Monkees, "Daydream Believer." He did start off with a dynamic "I'm Into Something Good" and ended with more Hermits hits, including "Leaning On a Lamp Post" and "There's a Kind of Hush." He really got the crowd singing along to the raucous music hall ditty "I'm Henry the Eighth."
(Speaking of the Monkees, the last concert Lauren and I saw at the Big E was Micky Dolenz and his sister Coco in mid-September 2008. The Court of Honor stage was totally outdoors then. There were concerns about a thunder storm during Micky's second show, which led him to half-joke about not wanting to get electrocuted. I suspect his complaints and similar comments from other musicians may have been why they ultimately put up that tent.)
After the show, we headed back towards the Midway. We'll be doing rides at Great Escape next week and were wary of games after Lauren spent an hour trying to win a big fish last year, so we just ended up doing the cranes. This time, Lauren did better than me. She won a purple Elmo and a sweet indigo Crayola bear. I tried for 20 minutes and only came up with a Beanie Baby unicorn named Harmonie. She's odd but cute, with her multi-hued blotches, glittery rainbow eyes and hooves, and twisted horn of sparkling gold and blue.
By the time we finished with the crane games, it was past 4:30. The crowds had increased substantially since Peter's concert. Kids were out of school and were now running around, playing games and chasing each other. It had been in-and-out cloudy and cool all day, but the wind picked up during the concert as well. Not to mention, we'd been there for over 6 hours, and I was just plain tired of crowds. We finally headed back to the parking lot by quarter of 5.
Had dinner at the same Chipotle we have the past two years. The blocky gray and red building is in an outlying parcel at a shopping center about three minutes or so from the Big E. We both had bowls with rice, tomatoes, cheese, beans, and meat. Lauren had plant-based sofritos, black beans, and white rice. I had spicy steak, pinto beans, and brown rice. We enjoyed our big and tasty meal at a counter along the window overlooking the parking lot.
We had far less trouble getting home. This time, Lauren stuck to the directions and the Mass Pike, passing by downtown Springfield before getting on the highway. We took a slightly longer way back after we got to Lee so Lauren could show me where a close guy friend of hers lives. Once again, no traffic anywhere, not even at the Big E this time.
After we got in, Lauren set up the Nintendo 64 her co-worker sold her last year. I remembered that Mario Kart 64 has a VS mode where you can play with one or two or three other people, rather than them and the computer. We each chose four rounds, playing eight all together. Lauren beat the pants off me, winning six to 2. Most of the rounds were pretty close, though. I snuck by her in Moo Moo Farms, and she kept running into snowmen at Frappe Snowland.
Lauren tried Donkey Kong 64 briefly, but she couldn't figure out the gameplay in Adventure Mode without a manual. If memory serves me correctly, you have to do a couple of "training" mini-games before you can get started on that one. She finally decided it wasn't worth the effort, and we went online instead.
Finished the night watching flop game shows from the 1970's. Game shows were in a precarious position on the networks as the 70's began. The few that existed were simple general knowledge quizzes. The Reel Game, for instance, tested people's knowledge of movies. No one won more than $1,000 at any given time. The show itself wasn't all that exciting, but it did bring Jack Barry back into hosting after he and his partner Dan Enright were caught in the quiz show scandals of the 1950's.
Game shows became bigger and bolder in 1972 thanks to the hits The Price Is Right, Gambit, and The Joker's Wild. Suddenly, big shows with bigger payouts were all the rage. The Magnificent Marble Machine from 1975 let contestants and a celebrity partner play a giant pinball machine after guessing the name of a person, place, or thing from clues provided on what looked like a pinball machine's backbox. I can understand why this one didn't work. Pinball is more fun to play than watch, and the actual game wasn't really all that interesting. Roddy McDowell and Florence Henderson try to get that machine going.
50 Grand Slam brought back the tough quiz shows with people in isolation booths in 1976. Tom Kennedy asked two contestants questions based on their area of expertise. While one heard the question, the other went in an isolation booth. The first contestant would answer the question, then the second would see if they could answer the whole question. For some reason, there's even a golf game demonstrated in the premiere episode seen here.
The Wizard of Odds from 1973 was a variation. Alex Trebek had his first hosting experience in the US with this show that had contestants answering questions based on the law of averages. The second game had contestants choose which phrase didn't match the others. Yeah, not the most thrilling show in the universe, but Alex is as warm and enjoyable as he'd be in later shows.
Masquerade Party was a failed 1974 attempt to revive the 50's show that had a celebrity panel trying to guess who the famous person was under a costume. This one is more significant for giving Richard Dawson his big hosting break than for the goofy gameplay. Look for one of his fellow Match Game panelists in the first costume in the only surviving episode.
Bill Cullen didn't have much more luck with Pass the Buck from 1978. Bill gives four contestants a topic, like the circus, and they have to give answers to match. If someone gets stuck or gives an answer someone else gave, the next person can give the answer and knock them out. If they miss, the contestant after them can take both out. Honestly, I thought this was cute, and Bill Cullen really seemed to have fun with it. It's too bad it couldn't survive competition from Card Sharks.
Whew! is another failed 70's game that's a lot more fun than you might think. I wish Buzzr would take another crack at it. Watching people set up blocks on the huge board as the other contestant answers pun-based sentences, then run the "gauntlet" of Hanna Barbara-designed villains, is a lot of fun, and Tom Kennedy clearly enjoys hosting.
See what game shows worked and what didn't in the Me Decade with these truly unique flops!
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